On the Run
by orangana
Summary: Lucy finally takes her chance at running away from home with help from an unlikely companion. Can she and Erik make it in a life on the run or will the past catch up with them? Brain isn't likely to let Erik stay free and Jude Heartfilia wants his heiress back.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey, readers! I've been sitting on this idea for awhile and finally decided to get it started. If you're following my other stories, don't worry. I'm not abandoning them. I just had to get this out. Leave a review and let me know what you think!**

I don't own Fairy Tail.

The distant sight of the sunlit gardens called to her. Through the perfectly polished glass, she could see the glowing green of the trees and imagine the smell of the nearly kept flower beds. With her eyes shut tightly, she could almost feel the warm grass beneath her bare feet instead of the cold, hardwood floors. Her memory supplied the sound of her mother's light laughter as she relived a time full of carefree afternoons and hugs from the person she once cherished most in the world.

Brown eyes were once again revealed when she parted her lids to look out at the empty gardens. Those happy times were long gone, replaced with days full of solitude and longing. On days like this, filled with nostalgic longing, Lucy would normally spend every available moment in those gardens. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be possible without a servant present. Having run off her previous warden, or caretaker as her father called the old hag, Lucy was trapped indoors until a new attendant could be located. It didn't make sense to the young woman that she couldn't leave her wing of the estate alone. Did her father truly believe her unable to do things like open doors on her own? She could take care of herself. It wasn't as if she hadn't been doing so most of the time since she was young.

If she were as helpless as he believed, she wouldn't have been able to build up her magic enough to bypass the wards he had a wizard place on every outdoor exit of her living quarters. It still amazed her that a man who deeply despised magic after the death of his wife would resort to using it to keep his magically inclined daughter indoors. Luckily for her, he had no idea how strong her magic had become since she began training through meditation every time she was alone. If Lucy had her way, he would never find out about her growing abilities, or her occasional nighttime escapades into the nearby forest. There was really no need for him to know about either of her most precious secrets. She was just a few months shy of being an adult and didn't need to be coddled like a helpless child. She wasn't stupid enough to put herself at the risk of being seriously injured or caught by bandits to be held for ransom. She moved through the night with extreme care to avoid any unsavory characters lurking the darkness. It was a risk she was willing to take if it meant planning her escape from her golden prison.

Several nights had passed since her last rendezvous. Her last trip had been a productive one, as she was finally able to make it to the other side of the woods in record time. Making a quick trip when she fled for good would be important in case any of the guards or servants realized she was missing and formed a search party. With a plan in place, tonight might be the perfect opportunity to make her escape. Until her father hired a new attendant, Lucy would be alone regularly and the bedroom next to hers would remain unoccupied, so there wouldn't be anyone to accidentally wake up if she made noise. Having been visited - a term she used lightly since there was very little speaking involved - by her father earlier that day, Lucy knew she would only be seeing tutors and other various servants for several days to come. Tonight would be the best night to disappear.

Sounds of a violent tussle in the hall drew the blonde's attention away from her musings. Grunts and harsh words filtered through beneath the door, making the young woman curious about what might be going on outside her bedroom. A few quick steps later, Lucy stood in the hallway facing the most interesting sight she'd seen in weeks. Two of her father's largest guards were struggling to control a maroon-haired young man wearing worn-in brown pants and a buttoned shirt that likely used to be white. It was almost amusing to see two well-trained guards having such a hard time with someone so much smaller than them.

Every ounce of humor Lucy felt at the situation quickly evaporated and was replaced by a protective rage when one of the guards wrapped both arms around their captive to hold him still while the other guard punched him hard enough to split his lip.

"Enough!" She shouted in the same regal, demanding tone she despised her father for using on her. The kinship her she felt with the man in that moment caused her gut to churn, but the guards' immediate reaction was worth the discomfort. "What is the meaning of this?"

The guard who had delivered the harsh punch stood at attention while the other continued restraining the young man. "Lady Heartfilia," the guard began with a nod, "The Lord of the house instructed us to bring your new attendant to your quarters."

"And you felt the need to brutalize the poor man along the way?" Lucy asked sarcastically with her hands on both hips. She didn't miss the way the restrained man snickered under his breath when the guard's confident posture suddenly turned nervous.

"Our apologies, ma'am, but he did not come along willingly." The first guard stuttered while the second guard released his captive.

"I don't believe anyone would with the way you two were behaving." She snapped back with her eyes narrowed. When the guards didn't leave immediately, Lucy stepped forward and made a shooing motion in their direction. "Well, you can go back to wherever you came from. I have no use for you here. If my father chose this man as my attendant, I can take things from here."

As soon as the guards were out of sight, Lucy turned to her newest unlucky servant with a sigh. She was slightly surprised her father enlisted a male attendant to replace the last, since he believed her to be a virtuous young woman patiently awaiting her next birthday, marking her passage into adulthood and inevitable marriage to an old man with a fortune or young man set to inherit one when his father croaked. Clearly, this new attendant didn't want to be there as much as she didn't want him there, so she might not have to do much to run him off. It had taken awhile and quite a few ridiculous stunts to get the last attendant to demand she be relieved of her duties. The memory of the distraught woman crying over her rapidly thinning hair brought a devious smirk to Lucy's lips.

A snort from the young man drew her attention back to him. Maybe he found the situation strange enough to amuse him? With a shake of her head, she ignored the odd behavior and started walking back towards her bedroom as she said, "Come on. I'll clean up your lip and show you where you'll be staying."

Without paying much attention to whether or not he followed along, Lucy made her way across her bedroom and into her large bathroom. She opened a storage cabinet and pushed all the towels to the side, revealing a small first aid kit. Her father would never approve of her treating her own wounds, but he also wouldn't approve of how she got them, so she didn't bring it up during their rare meals together. It was better for both their sanity if she kept her midnight runs into the forest to herself.

When she returned to her bedroom, she found her new attendant standing in the doorway looking reserved and uncomfortable. Patting her bed, she said, "Come and sit so I can look at that lip."

He nodded and made his way slowly over to the bed. If he was against the idea of sitting on a young woman's bed, he didn't show it. Lucy set the kit down next to him and rifled through until she found the alcohol wipes. As she wiped the cut clean, she noticed how he didn't flinch from the sting of alcohol in the wound as she expected him to. How could he be used to pain like that?

Again ignoring the strange behavior, she let her mind wander to her plans for the night. The young man before her didn't seem all that interested in his duties as an attendant, so maybe she could easily slip out once he settled for the night. Judging by his attitude, he was more likely an indentured servant, or possibly in some other position she didn't want to dwell on. Some of her father's dealings were more underhanded than he'd ever admit.

A sliver of guilt wormed its way into her heart when she thought of how her father would react to her sneaking away under the new attendant's watch, especially if he was already here against his will. Jude Heartfilia wasn't known for being merciful and wouldn't likely start offering grace to a servant here off the record. Lucy resigned herself to accepting that she'd be stuck in the Heartfilia Estate awhile longer, at least until this man was transferred to another post.

Lucy did her best to ignore the dark eyes staring at her with an unwavering intensity as she stood to put away the first aid materials and return the kit to its hiding spot. When she made it back to her bedroom, the young man had moved to stand in front of the very window she'd been standing in front of earlier. His expression reflected the same longing she felt when she stood in that spot. Where had her father found this young man? He wasn't anything like the attendants she'd had previously. They were always professional women with experience. The way he stared out the window, he seemed to want to escape as much as she did.

Feeling bad for the way she was about to break the calm that had settled over her newest companion but knowing he needed to be in uniform before her tutor showed up, Lucy said, "Come on. I'll show you to your room and you can get changed into a uniform."

He nodded and simply turned to follow her out of the room. It was unusual to be the one directing someone else around and doing all the talking. Usually a new attendant would be chattering away in a fruitless attempt to get to know her and her schedule. Those conversations were always unwelcome and one-sided.

When they entered the door to the next room, Lucy immediately noticed the garment bag lying on the bed. "It seems father had your clothing delivered earlier." Under her breath, she mumbled, "Obviously, he knew about your arrival early today. It would have been nice to be informed when he was here."

The young man laughed quietly, much to Lucy's confusion. She was sure he couldn't have heard her, but she once again ignored his behavior and left the room. She waited patiently in the hallway for several minutes, assuming her attendant would exit the room when he finished dressing. The attendants always followed her around like they were attached by an invisible string. When a few more minutes passed, Lucy grew curious and made her way back to the door she'd just. After knocking quietly, she asked, "Is everything alright?"

A moment passed in silence before she heard a gravelly voice answer, "No."

Unsure of what to say to the unexpected answer, Lucy hesitated before saying, "Can I come in?"

When no answer was given after a few seconds, she pushed the door open slowly, not wanting to surprise him, and was slightly amused to see him struggling with the tie. "Do you need some help?"

She had never received a glare quite like the one she was getting from the young man at that moment, but it didn't stop her from laughing. The combination of his disheveled suit and the hardened expression just didn't mix well. Through her giggles, she managed to say, "I'm not very good at tying the knot, but I think I can do better than whatever you've done there."

The young man rolled his eyes but allowed Lucy to fix his tie. She hadn't been lying, she really didn't do a very good job, but at least it wasn't twisted together and hanging loosely from his neck anymore. When she finished, she stepped back to inspect the rest of his tuxedo and motioned towards the lapel as she said, "You have this all wrong, too."

Quite a few uncomfortable minutes passed as Lucy dressed him like a child. Strangely, she was enjoying herself. Taking care of someone else wasn't something she'd ever had to do, especially not someone being paid – or so she hoped – to take care of her. She didn't mind, though. It was a nice change.

Once she finished buttoning his jacket, Lucy said, "My tutor will be here soon, if she isn't already. I have to go to the study for my lessons. You can go with me or stay here. It doesn't matter to me."

The only response she received was a nod, so Lucy turned to leave the room. Just before closing the door behind her, she looked back at her new attendant. "I just realized I don't know what your name is."

The young man stared into her eyes for a few seconds too long, making her feel like he was looking into her soul to determine whether or not to answer her. When he finally spoke, it was simply one word. "Erik"

With a nod, she left the room, closing the door softly behind her.

Midday quickly became evening after that. Her academic lessons were completed by late afternoon, leaving Lucy to decide if she would take dinner in her quarters or join her father in the main dining hall. Unwillingly to spend the next few hours in the company of that man, even if she did have several questions for him about her new attendant, Lucy decided she would have dinner in her rooms.

The mealtime began in weighted silence. Her almost-friend, a maid named Anissa, hadn't delivered her meal that evening, so there was no one to talk to. Instead, it had been delivered by the cook's son, a disgusting man in his early twenties that made Lucy's skin crawl. She'd been glad her attendant was at her side when the man delivered her food. The presence of another male seemed to ward off his usual attempts at flirting and casual touching.

A few bites into her food, Lucy looked to her side where her attendant stood, once against staring out a window. Did he crave freedom as much as she did? It was an interesting thought, one that had her mind going to a dangerous place. Could they help each other escape this life? Sharing her plan with him would be risky. What if he said no and then told her father? The act of loyalty to the Master of the Heartfilia Estate might get him out of whatever situation had landed him in unwillingly servitude. But what if he didn't tell anyone and could help her? He was bound to have more knowledge of the outside world than she did. She'd never been allowed to go anywhere without her father or a trusted servant in attendance, and even those outings had been limited to business deals or social events. Picking a path through the forest was one thing, but covering her identity and living a life outside the estate was something else entirely.

Attempting to focus her mind on anything other than her current thoughts, Lucy's eyes landed on Erik's covered plate. She wondered if he was hungry, he had to be with how skinny he was, but he hadn't made a move to sit and eat with her. Maybe he was the type of attendant that believed he couldn't eat with his charge? Lucy wouldn't have that. She'd never treated her attendants as if they were beneath her, even if she wasn't very friendly with them.

"Erik, you're welcome to sit with me and eat." She said softly, keeping her eyes forward but noticing how his head turned sharply in her direction. After a moment of hesitation, Erik sat himself at the table next to Lucy and removed the domed cover from his plate of food. She was surprised by the way he ate as if he hadn't seen food in days, though she realized she shouldn't have been. When she helped him fix his suit earlier, Lucy noticed the way his ribs rested a bit too noticeably beneath the lapel as she buttoned it and his clavicle seemed too pronounced as she adjusted the tie.

With a small giggle, she said, "You can slow down a little. No one is going to steal your food from you. I certainly don't want it. The cooks always give me more than I can eat, anyway, so I'll have some leftover for you."

He shot her a glare similar to the one he'd given her when she'd helped with his tie, but it had less heat this time. Maybe he was getting used to being around her. The doubts she had about sharing her plans with him lessened as the meal went on. It wasn't as if he spoke to her to ease those fears. He still hadn't uttered more than the two words he'd spoken earlier that day, but something about him made her relax. Instinctively, she felt as if she could trust him. She may come to regret it, but she decided to take a leap of faith.

As if he could hear her thoughts, Erik looked up at Lucy, initiating eye contact with her for the first time since they met. The way he stared at her was unnerving, like he knew everything she was thinking and they were somehow communicating in that moment. When he nodded to her unvoiced thoughts, she sucked in a breath, wondering if she was crazy or if he really knew what she was thinking.

He put his finger to his lips in the worldwide symbol for staying quiet. Understanding, Lucy nodded, though she was still awestruck at the current situation. When he was sure she'd stay quiet, Erik motioned widely to the room around them with one hand and then pointed at his ears. A confused look settled over Lucy for a moment, wondering what that could mean. And then it dawned on her. He wanted her to be quiet because someone or something around the room was listening in. Did that mean he could really hear her thoughts and had just prevented her from spilling her plan to whoever was spying on them?!

When he nodded again, Lucy nearly fell out of her chair in shock. He could hear her thoughts! This was amazing and terrifying and all around fantastic. He'd just saved her from outing herself! Too many emotions had Lucy feeling a bit manic and it all tumbled out in a fit of laughter. Erik eyed her as if she'd lost her mind and maybe she had. She had a new attendant that could read her mind. Was the solitude getting to her? She had to test this out.

Erik rolled his eyes at her and sighed in defeat, knowing he'd have to play along with her little game for now. Of course, she started off with _Can you hear me?_ Hadn't they already established that? He nodded anyway. She squealed again, much to his distaste, but he could only glare at her. Saying what he was thinking would give away that he was indeed not a trained servant. Though, it seemed she'd already figured that out. The next few minutes were filled with Lucy thinking random things at Erik, like asking for the salt shaker, and him responding by fulfilling the request. When she'd finally accepted he could hear her, she finally asked the question he'd been waiting for.

 _Do you want to go with me tonight?_

He didn't answer right away. Not because he didn't know the answer but simply because he enjoyed her discomfort. Her thoughts were racing wildly and it was the most amusement he'd found in awhile. When she was really starting to doubt herself, he finally nodded in agreement. The squeal that followed earned her another eye roll. With another gesture, he reminded her that someone could hear everything. Realizing it was odd of her to squeal when they weren't speaking, Lucy quickly said, "Thank you so much for killing the beetle."

"You're welcome." Erik answered, glad she'd come up with an excuse for the noise. At least she wasn't stupid.

Time seemed to come to a crawl after dinner. It would be more than three hours before the pair could slip out unnoticed. She did her best to follow her usual nightly routine but had a hard time focusing on anything except the time. Even her favorite form of relaxation, a warm bath, didn't settle her nerves. It didn't seem to matter to her busy mind that she'd successfully snuck out countless times in the past. The permanence of her trip tonight had her on edge. After her long bath, she dried her hair and spent a ridiculous amount of time styling it different ways until she finally settled on a ponytail. When she finished dressing, she pulled a nightgown on over her mini skirt and top in case another servant popped up. As much as she wanted to have her boots on her feet for a quick exit, she knew wearing them around would only cause suspicion if anyone saw her.

It surprised her how calm Erik seemed through her whirlwind of excitement. He hadn't spoken to her again, so his word count was still only up to four words. Why didn't he ever talk? It wasn't as if they had to talk about their plans. And why wasn't he as jittery as she was? Lucy didn't understand how he could be kneeling in front of the fireplace as if the two of them weren't planning to runaway in two short hours. He went on acting like the good little attendant he was pretending to be, dropping her dirty clothes down the laundry shute for the maids to tend, putting out the fire for the night, turning down her sheets as if she'd be crawling into them any minute.

Lucy stomped her way over to stand in front of Erik and huffed in irritation, "You're possibly the most boring attendant I've ever had."

With an infuriating smirk, Erik bowed slightly with a hand over his heart as he said said, "Apologies, my lady. Would you like to play a board game?" His tone was even and would sound polite to anyone listening in, but Lucy could feel the sarcasm rolling off of him. Not one to be outdone, she curtsied and very politely said, "Yes, that would be lovely."

And that's how they spent the last two hours waiting for the guard rotation to take place. During their three games of chess, Lucy discovered Erik was highly competitive but horrible at chess. It didn't take him long to catch onto the game. She beat him each time but only by a few moves in the last game, so she assumed he must be fairly intelligent. The glare she received after that thought made her grin.

With the lights dimmed for the night, Lucy went to her bed and Erik left her room to return to his own. Lucy lay there silently, her anxiety getting the best of her as her mind conjured up every possible negative outcome for the night. She chastised herself for being so nervous. She'd been made it out many times and this time would be exactly the same, but she wouldn't be coming back. An excited giggle almost slipped out as soon as that thought crossed her mind. She'd finally be free in a few hours.

Erik returned to Lucy's room at exactly 11:45pm, ten minutes before they'd make their escape. He moved so quietly that she didn't hear him come in and nearly startled her into squealing again. With a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet, he shook his head. When she nodded in understanding, he released her and moved back to let her stand up. Lucy noticed he was wearing the same tattered outfit he'd arrived in, which was much more suitable for traveling, and made quick work of the nightgown before slipping on her boots. With a quick wave to Erik, she motioned for him to come over to her jewelry stand, where they both pocketed as much as they could carry.

He didn't understand why she trusted him so much. It seemed so foolish. Not only did she mentally lay out her escape route with no qualms about how he may betray her, she also handed him an assortment of jewelry worth more than any fortune he'd ever seen in his life. He could easily ditch her somewhere or knock her out and take the jewels she carried. He could even sell her off to bandits for a cut of the ransom money. The girl didn't make sense to him, but he also felt a need to protect her. Mostly from herself. They were so much alike but different in so many ways. The familiarity unsettled him but he pushed the feeling to the back of his mind to focus on the task at hand.

Pockets full of jewelry, the two quietly made their way to the back exit of Lucy's living quarters. This time of night, no one ever used that entrance, as it was normally only used by the kitchen staff. The same wards Erik had seen painted over the front entrance were shown here at the back, but they didn't so much as glow when Lucy stepped through. Being intimately familiar with magic that kept a prisoner from escaping, he was certain those wards were meant to keep her inside, but she'd passed right through. Could she use magic, too? He'd have to ask her about that later.

It didn't take long for them to wind their way through the gardens. When they reached the end of the manicured path, they paused to look around. Just as Lucy expected, no guards were nearby when they sprinted across the open field that stretched from the gardens to the tree line. So far the night was going just as all the others had. As soon as they were under the cover of the shadows, the two stopped for a moment to catch their breath. The walk through the dark forest would be easy. The next challenge would be scaling the wall, and then they had to make it past the town before sunrise. Her fear of trying to get through the town on her own had kept her from trying this sooner, but maybe it'd be possible with Erik's ability to hear thoughts.

Lucy looked over at him, wondering if he'd been listening in. When he nodded, she wasn't sure if it was to say he had been listening or that he could get them through town, but it didn't matter all that much. Just having him there was reassuring. Was this what it was like to have a friend? Embarrassed by her trail of thought, she shoved that thought down as far as she could while praying he hadn't heard her. Admitting she'd never had a friend would be horrifying. The truth was she'd never even spent time around anyone her age outside formal events.

A quick peek told her he wasn't staring at her like she was a crazy, so maybe he hadn't been paying attention. She tugged on his sleeve and started walking along the path she'd memorized. He followed closely behind her, doing his best to pay attention to her movements in the dark forest. They moved quickly, avoiding most of the underbrush and only gaining a few scratches along the way.

Just over an hour later, they broke through on the other side of the small forest behind the Heartfilia Estate and were now facing the wall surrounding it. This was the furthest Lucy had ever gone. She'd done some research about the geography of the land between the wall and the closest town, but she'd never gone to look for herself. Fear constricted her movements as she realized how close she was to actually being free.

Noticing Lucy's building panic, Erik grabbed her hand and tugged her forward as he whispered, "Come on. We're almost there. Don't chicken out now."

Too shocked to continue feeling panic, Lucy looked at Erik with wide eyes and whisper-yelled, "Look at that! You can talk like a normal person."

"Shut up and let's go." He grumbled as he roughly dropped her hand. "I don't feel like getting caught and sent back."

That was enough to get Lucy moving. Stretching on her toes, she was barely able to reach the top of the stone. Even with a few pathetic jumps, she couldn't get herself onto the wall. Erik pulled himself up easily and turned his body so he was lying on his stomach with a hand stretched out to Lucy. Once again grateful for his help, she gave him a bright smile before gripping his hand tightly and using it to help pull herself up. When they dropped down to the other side, Lucy whispered a quick "thanks" before looking ahead of at the open countryside.

Excitement unlike any she'd felt before coursed through her body. She was finally free! With the world stretching before her, she grabbed Erik's hand and pulled him along as she broke out into a jog. Her voice held a light giggle as she whispered, "Let's get out of here."

The pair jogged a little ways until they reached the cover of another group of trees. Lucy doubled over with her hands on her knees, huffing from exhaustion. It was clear to Erik that she'd never done much physical exercise. He gave her a couple minutes to catch her breath since he could tell no one was around. When he started to get antsy from being in one place too long, he grunted, "You'll have to suck it up and keep moving, Fugitive. You can rest later."

"Fuck off." She forced out through her struggled breathing.

"Oh, the princess has a personality." He said snarkily as he started walking away. "I thought maybe you were just a stuffy, pompous bitch like the rest of them."

Lucy jogged a few steps to catch up and said, "I have plenty of personality. I just had to play daddy's good girl to avoid punishment." They walked a bit further in silence before she worked up the nerve to ask, "So, what's your story? It's obvious you're not trained in servitude."

Erik looked at her for a second before deciding to answer. It wasn't as if he had to keep their secrets now. "I was there as a test from your father. He planned to hire my guild – well, now former guild – for an undercover job but he wanted to see how trustworthy we were. If I could get through taking care of his most prized possession without ruining it, he could trust us with his job."

Disgust twisted Lucy's features into an ugly scowl. "Are you serious?!"

"Shhh!" Erik nearly shouted at her, "Keep it down, unless you want to get caught. What do you think will happen to me if I'm caught outside the estate with the Heartfilia heiress in tow?"

Effectively chastised, Lucy whispered, "Oh, sorry. So, why are you running away from your guild?"

His only response was an indecipherable grunt before he barked, "Less talking, more walking. I want to get past the town before your out of shape ass collapses."

Huffing with a dramatic roll of her eyes, Lucy decided to obediently follow along, but it would only be temporary. She'd be getting answers out of him and she hoped he was listening in on her thoughts hard enough to expect it coming. His quiet snort reassured her he was.


	2. Chapter 2

Lucy was pretty sure her muscles had never burned this badly in her entire life. The ache she felt during her horseback riding lessons paled in comparison to the burning she felt now as she forced her body to continue placing one foot in front of the other. Even the arches of her feet hurt. She'd stopped feeling her toes hours ago. Were they even still there? If Erik would just slow down a little, maybe it would be a little easier to walk.

"Stop your bitchin', Fugitive. We aren't slowing down."

She gave him her best glare, though it didn't faze him a bit. She hated the nickname he'd give her. He even refused to call her by her name. His annoying habit of responding to her thoughts was getting on her already worn nerves, too.

"If you hate it so much, you can stop right here and sit your round ass down while you wait for some Rune Knights or your father's men to pick you up."

"Not going to happen." She bit out as she stomped along next to him. "You said you wanted to go with me, which means you're stuck with me and all my complaining."

"We'll see about that. Irritate me enough and I'll tie you to a tree and leave you there for the next group of bandits to pick up."

"Asshole" she grumbled under her breath, but didn't keep arguing. She wasn't sure how serious he was about that. Based on how heartless he'd been since they crossed the stone wall and he started speaking to her, she wasn't going to take the chance.

They'd been walking at a fast pace for hours, trying to put as many miles as possible between them and the Heartfilia Estate before sunrise. Judging by the way the sky was beginning to lighten, they only had about an hour until he'd let her take a break. Lucy hadn't missed the way Erik directed their path to take a wide route around the town nearest the estate, but he didn't answer when she questioned it. He just ignored her, like he always did when he didn't feel like answering her questions. It didn't matter, though. She was fairly certain it had something to do with the guild he was abandoning. His actions made sense if his guildmates were staying in that town waiting for him to complete his 'test'.

It didn't come as a surprise to Lucy that their travel had been peaceful, with the exception of Erik's antagonistic commentary on her thoughts. No one back at the estate would be expecting to see her until her tutor arrived late in the morning. When the maids delivered breakfast, they would simply leave it in the study without checking in on her. They'd stopped expecting to see her when Lucy started sleeping later in the morning after staying out many hours of the night. With her father assuming the newest attendant would see to Lucy's needs, no one would think to enter her room.

Most of their nighttime journey was made through open countryside with the occasional tree grove breaking up the mostly flat scenery. Being under the open sky, Lucy noticed as soon as the last star faded from view and took with it the extra energy she'd felt throughout the night. The loss left her feeling more drained than she thought she could handle. It was much to her relief when Erik finally said, "We can stop here for awhile. I don't need you dying without a shovel nearby to bury the body."

Too exhausted to respond, she just ignored his comment and flopped onto her back in the soft grass at the top of the last hill he'd forced her to climb. When she'd noticed Erik taking a path straight for the tall hill, Lucy wasn't sure she'd make it to the top. She had to admit, it was worth the struggle to be able to lie beneath the covering of a tree on top of a hill high enough to give them a decent view in all directions. If she wasn't so worried about someone tracking her down in the next few hours, she might have taken the time to really enjoy it.

Erik's deep voice drew her attention, "We'll be in a small, shady town in a few hours. I know a guy there who'll take this jewelry off our hands for a decent price. It won't be as much as you could get at a jeweler, but it won't be a rip off, either."

"Why not just sell bits of it as we go? That's what I'd planned to do before you came along." She said as she sat up and looked in his direction. He'd sat down in front of the tree with his back against the thick trunk and his head leaning backwards.

He leveled her with a disbelieving stare before closing his eyes and letting his head fall to the tree again. "That was your plan? You're fucking lucky I came along. You'd have been found and hauled off by day after tomorrow."

"Well," she huffed in irritation with her arms crossed, "why don't you share some of your wordly wisdom with my clearly inept self?"

Without opening his eyes, he said, "Any credible jeweler would recognize the Heartfilia insignia stamped on most of it and call up daddy dearest to turn you over for a reward worth much more than the jewelry in your pocket."

"Oh." She said, realizing how right he probably was. "And your guy won't do that?"

A snort escaped as Erik said, "No. He definitely won't be calling up the authorities."

Lucy lay down on her back again without saying anything else. It dawned on her how fortunate she was to have Erik with her. There was a chance she could have done this on her own, but it would have required more luck than she probably had at her disposal. Changing the subject, she asked, "You happen to have any water on you? I've got a serious case of cotton mouth going on over here."

"No, but you could always go back to a store and buy some. Maybe they won't recognize you."

A frustrated groan left Lucy's throat before she said, "Do you ever stop with the shitty attitude? Good god, it's nonstop with you."

Erik chuckled lightly as he said, "Nope. Still glad you invited me along, Fugitive?"

"Would you stop calling me that?!" She nearly shouted before reining in her emotions to keep herself quiet. "Ugh, you're infuriating. And for your information, I have a plan to be able to get in and out of stores without being recognized, whether you're with me or not."

"Let's see it then, Fugi."

Lucy grumbled under her breath about how shortening the nickname didn't make it any better while she sat up to more easily reach down into her shirt to dig out her most prized possessions. The collared shirt was a bit too fitted to slide her hand down, so she was forced to open the first few buttons.

"As much as I'm sure many men would love to watch you undress, I'm not the stable boy and I'd rather not see your tits." Erik said in a tone that would have been more convincing if his eyes weren't glued to her bust as she opened the second button.

"Shut up, perv." All her movement stopped as her brain processed what he'd just said. "Hold on. What do you know about the stable boy?" The comment had her a little freaked out. Just how far into her thoughts could he go?

"I can dip as far as I need to," He paused for a second to listen in satisfaction as her thoughts become frantic. It wasn't completely true. Lucy was actually harder to read than a lot of people but he could make out her thoughts when her soul was really stressed, which was nearly constant in the time they'd spent together. When he was satisfied with her state of panic, he added, "Though, I didn't have to when the memory was practically projected to me when we passed by that dark little corner of the gardens back there."

A string of unintelligible noises fell from Lucy's lips. That was _not_ something anyone was supposed to find out about. The stable boy was the only person at the estate near her age and they were both curious, slightly horny teens who were all alone when her father was away on business and she was between attendants. Lucy knew she had to be a virgin when she was given away in marriage, but that didn't mean she couldn't experience other things. She glared at Erik as she said, "Don't ever bring it up again."

Without giving him a chance to respond, Lucy stood to her feet with her summoning keys in hand and said, "Open Gate of the Giant Crab, Cancer!"

All thoughts of Lucy and her stable boy left Erik's mind when Lucy's words brought forth a burst of golden light that produced a tall guy with crab legs coming from his back. Much to Erik's discomfort, the crab guy's first thoughts were all about how much he'd like to comb Erik's tangled looking hair. "Don't even think about coming close to me with those scissors."

Cancer turned to look at Lucy with his scissors snipping away at the air as he said, "What can I do for you, ebi?"

With her hands together in a pleading gesture, she asked, "You remember when I asked if you could change my appearance? Think you could do that now?"

"Of course, ebi." Without further prompting, Cancer let his scissors fly as he used his magic to turn Lucy's straight, mid-back length, blonde hair into shoulder-length curls in a dark shade of brown. Whipping out a mirror from the bag at his hip, Cancer asked, "How's that for ya, ebi?"

With a squeal, Lucy grabbed the mirror and stared at her new look. After turning her head side to side and touching on the new locks, she exclaimed, "Wow! I look totally different! Can you do Erik, too?"

Before Cancer could answer, Erik stood and took a few steps away as he said, "Not a chance."

"Don't be like that," Lucy whined and pouted her lips, "At least let him change the color and cut off the wild bits."

"I like my wild bits just as they are, thank you very much."

Lucy sighed and shook her head, absently loving the way the curls bounced. It was clear this was a losing battle, so she thanked Cancer for his help and sent him back home. "You think we're far from a stream or something? If not, I could get some water for us but I'm not sure it'd be worth the trouble."

Her mind supplied Erik with memories of a very violent mermaid he wasn't all that excited to meet, so he inhaled deeply to scent the air. "Half a mile or so that way," he said while pointing vaguely ahead of them.

"Did you seriously just sniff it out?" Her voice reflecting the shock and disbelief she felt.

"Like it was less strange for me to see you use a tit sweat covered key to summon a crab guy to fix your hair." He bit out as he turned to start walking in the direction of the stream he smelled nearby.

The blonde turned brunette didn't bother replying to Erik's remark because after only a few steps of walking, the soles of her feet were aching again. She did her best to ignore the pain and keep up with her companion's long strides. He might be the biggest asshole she'd ever met, but at least he was a useful asshole that could sniff out water and had good ideas on traveling without getting caught. She was definitely feeling grateful for his presence when they reached the stream about ten minutes later and she was able to drink her fill.

Enjoying feeling of cool water splashing on her face, Lucy didn't realize she was about to be left behind. Staying true to character, as soon as Erik was done drinking, he stood and started walking away. When she noticed how quiet it'd become, Lucy looked up and noticed Erik's silhouette in the distance. "Hey!" She shouted as she stood quickly and jogged a few steps to catch up, but she didn't comment further on his rude behavior. She was too caught up in the beauty of the day before her. The sun was shining brightly over the slowly changing landscape. Their journey had started out over mostly flat fields with a small rise here and there, but now the hills were getting larger as they walked on. Eventually, a mountain range became visible in the distance and Lucy couldn't contain her excitement anymore. "Are we already getting close to Crocus?"

His response was only a grunt that she assumed meant yes. Knowing how close they were to the capital brought her enough joy to outweigh the slight irritation she felt at his terrible communication skills. She was finally free and on her way to starting a life on her own. No more worries about being traded in marriage for a business deal or being trapped in her well decorated prison. There would be friends to be made, guilds to join and a full life to live. Well, as long as she made it through her travels with the grouch next to her. She wondered how long they'd stay together but didn't bother asking him, knowing he'd either ignore her question or give an unhelpfully snarky remark. It didn't matter, anyway. She was happy as it was.

A thought occurred to Lucy that she just couldn't keep to herself, much to Erik's annoyance. He sighed before she'd even started speaking but she still asked. "Why weren't you surprised by my magic? It's rare and, from what I've been told, there aren't many mages of my kind left."

"One of the mages in my old guild is a Celestial Summoner." His answer was as informative as he was willing to be, which Lucy knew. She simply nodded in understanding but her thoughts were running quickly in a direction that worried Erik. Before she could get herself worked up, he said, "She's not someone you'll want to meet as much as you're thinking. You should avoid the Oracion Seis as much as possible, even after we part ways."

"Why?" She asked in genuine confusion. "I'd love to talk to someone else that understands my magic."

"She's -" Erik hesitated before going on, trying to decide the best way to describe Sorano. "She's just not like you."

"Oh," Lucy said softly, wondering what could be so bad about the other mage. Celestial mages were supposed to be pure of heart; it was just part of how they their magic worked and what made them powerful. Lucy trusted Erik's judgment – though, she still didn't understand why she trusted the jerk – so she believed the woman was bad news. A dark-hearted Celestial Summoner couldn't be very strong, though.

"It isn't her power that makes her dangerous." Erik added, hoping his explanation would be enough to keep Lucy from seeking out his ex-guildmate. "It's her ruthlessness. She isn't someone you want to cross. She'd stop at nothing to steal your keys."

"That's horrible! I definitely won't go looking for her. Oh, her poor spirits!" Lucy gasped with her hands flying to her cheeks. "They must be miserable."

Erik silently agreed. Sorano's spirits were miserable but there was nothing he could do to free them. They were essentially Sorano's slaves forced to do her bidding.

They continued on in silence until buildings started to come into sight. It was past noon and Lucy was starving. She hadn't eaten since dinner the night before and all this walking was wearing her out. It'd be so nice to finally be able to stop and get something to eat somewhere, maybe even sleep in a bed for the night. Her fantasies of food and relaxation were interrupted by Erik's voice. "When we get to town, don't speak to anyone. This place isn't like Crocus or anywhere else you've been."

"What? Is it like a criminal's hideout or something?" She scoffed sarcastically.

"Actually, yes, that's a great way to describe it."

Lucy's eyes widened and her fear tinged thoughts made Erik smirk. The sheltered princess would be getting a taste of the real world. In a shaky voice, she asked, "How long will we be there?"

He shrugged as he said, "Probably until morning. It's a good place to rest up. The Rune Knights don't patrol there and no one would expect a runaway heiress to be staying in a place like that. We can keep moving tomorrow."

"We'll be there all night…" Her timid whisper trailed off as she envisioned all sorts of criminals doing terrible things, much of which Erik knew was highly unlikely to see happening during the daytime hours.

"Welcome to the real world, Fugitive." Erik said with a dark chuckle.

With the afternoon sun high overhead, they entered the small town on the main dirt road with Lucy subconsciously inched her way closer to Erik with each step. Her confidence dwindled further with each rundown building they passed with suspicious looking people lurking in the doorways and under the awnings. She felt like one of them might pick her off at any moment. The gravelly sound of Erik's voice calmed her a bit, "You can stop walking on top of me. You're panicking and it's drawing more attention than if you were to act like you belonged here."

"Oh – Uh, yeah. Sorry." She stuttered out as she forced herself to put distance between them again. Much to her dismay, Erik pulled her to a stop outside the most questionable looking establishment she'd seen so far.

"I'm going in here for a minute. Give me everything in your pockets." Erik waited for her to empty all the jewelry she had into his hands. When she was done, he used his full hands to push her by the shoulders to stand at the corner of the building. "You stand right here and don't move."

For the next half hour, which felt like an eternity to Lucy, she imagined dying a horrible death by the hands of the man eyeing her from across the street. She could see the way he'd use her body and then strangle her until she died, or maybe he'd beat her to death. He looked like he might even by the type to stab her and let her bleed out on the floor of an abandoned building. The sound of a door slamming drew a yelp from her as Erik stepped outside the building. His laughter made Lucy blush all the way to her toes, but her embarrassment didn't stop her from latching onto his arm and harshly whispering, "Don't you dare leave me alone here again. I'm pretty sure that guy over there was thinking up ways to eat me."

"Yeah, he was," He chuckled at the way Lucy tensed at his words, "but not in the way you're imagining."

Disgusted at the implication, Lucy dropped Erik's arm and slapped it as she said, "Perv." When they had walked what she felt was a safe distance away from the creepy guy, she asked, "Where are we going now?"

"To an inn. You can stay there while I get some food."

"Absolutely not," She firmly objected, "I meant it when I said you wouldn't be leaving me alone again while we're here."

He shrugged and said, "Alright."

The bar Erik led her to made Lucy instantly regret her decision to stay with him. Maybe she would have been better off at the inn. The stupid look of amusement on Erik's face told her he agreed. Lucy did her best not to look around the room at anyone and keep her eyes firmly planted on the wall behind the bar while they waited for their food. There were too many questionable looking people scattered around the tables and booths for her to feel eye contact would be safe with anyone. Even the bartender that took their orders looked pretty sketchy. She couldn't help but jump and look in the direction of the arm attached to the hand that was suddenly touching her lower back. Stale breathe and sweat reached her nose as a deep, male voice said, "Hey, babe. You lookin' for a good time?"

Too mortified to speak, Lucy froze in her spot and just stared with wide eyes at the man's sweat soaked, dirty face. Before he could lean in to whisper in her ear like he planned, Erik shoved him off and placed a protective arm around Lucy's waist. His voice a low growl, he said, "Keep your fuckin' hands to yourself or I'll melt them off."

The drunken man put his hands up in submission and said, "I don't want any problems, man."

Erik didn't respond but kept his eyes on the other man until he was seated back in his booth. Feeling the danger had passed, he released Lucy and went back to leaning casually against the counter as if the altercation hadn't just happened. With her heart still pounding in her chest, she locked eyes with Erik and hoped her could hear how thankful she was for his intervention.

Looking uncaring, he just shrugged and pulled a stool over to sit down closer to Lucy than he'd been before. He didn't maintain eye contact with her for fear of her seeing how confused he was. Why did he care if that guy touched her? It didn't make any sense. His head had been all fucked up since agreeing to leave with her. He had his own reasons for striking out on his own that had nothing to do with her, and those reasons meant they'd part ways soon enough. He couldn't let her get to his head with her easy acceptance and innocent nature. She hadn't even asked how much the guy had paid for the jewelry or for him to give the money to her. No one had ever trusted him so fully or relied on him this much.

With their to-go bags in hand, Erik led her to the only inn in town. When the innkeeper asked if they'd need one room or two, Lucy cut in saying they'd only need one before Erik could ask for two. As they walked away from the desk, he looked at her with the question written all over his face. She huffed in annoyance before saying, "I told you. You aren't leaving me alone again. I don't care if that means weird sleeping arrangements."

As soon as they were in the room, Lucy kicked off her boots and sat heavily on the lone bed. She tore into her food, foregoing all the manners drilled into her since childhood. "You can slow down. No one's going to steal your food." Erik said mockingly, repeating the same thing she'd told him the day before.

Eyes still fixed on her plate and mouth full of food she muttered sarcastically, "Your comedic talent is a gift to the world."

Erik couldn't keep the grin from his face as he sat down next to Lucy and started on his own food. When she was done, Lucy set her empty container on the bedside table and crawled over to the empty side of the bed. It didn't take long for her to situate herself under the thick blanket and relax enough to nearly fall asleep. Before she could reach that peaceful place, Erik said, "I hope you don't mind sharing because I'm sure as hell not sleeping on this floor."

"Just be quiet and go to sleep." Lucy muttered without opening her eyes. She'd been awake for too many hours to count and was too tired to care about sleeping next to a near stranger. It wasn't like Erik would do anything to her – that much she was sure of.

Shaking his head in disbelief of the girl next to him, Erik got as comfortable as possible, not falling asleep as easily as his formerly blonde companion. With nearly the entire town awake, he was bombarded with the thoughts of everyone within his range. At least he could focus on Lucy's soul. Its melody was a peaceful one, especially with her sleeping. Her thoughts were occasionally annoying while she was awake, but the gentle nature of her soul was worth the irritation. She had a pure soul, even if she was bitchy from time to time. It was a relief to travel with her instead of the broken souls of his former guildmates constantly grating on him.

With those thoughts slowly working their way through his mind and his magic focused on the calming tune coming from the soul less than two feet away, Erik was able to drift into a light sleep.

Lucy woke suddenly and sat up quickly. Disoriented and confused, she looked around trying to figure out where she was. It was dark, too dark to see anything around her. The mattress beneath her didn't feel right and the blankets weren't soft enough to be her own. Even the smell of the room was off. A gruff, familiar voice said, "Oi, lay back down or get out of the bed with all that bouncing around."

Erik. It was just Erik. She was sharing a bed with him in a danky room in a town full of criminals several miles away from the Heartfilia Estate. She was free and no longer an heiress. No Rune Knights or Heartfilia guards had found them. Life was good. When Erik snorted at her last thought, she flicked his forehead and hopped out of the bed before he could get her back. Just before she closed the bathroom door, she heard him grumble, "Payback's a bitch."

It was dark outside beyond the frosted glass of the window, meaning she'd slept through the evening and well into the night. The rest had done her some good and left her feeling refreshed enough to spend another long day walking. She nearly groaned out loud at the thought of walking all day again. Her feet would be calloused by the time she picked a city to stay in for awhile.

Lucy did let out an audible groan when she realized she didn't have a toothbrush or change of clothes. A life taking care of herself was definitely going to take some getting used to. Hopefully Erik would know of a place to buy the things they needed before leaving this terrifying town. She'd been lucky enough to have the sweetheart of a seamstress at the estate make her an outfit of Lucy's own design, or she would have been stuck traveling in a gown. The kind woman understood how trapped Lucy felt and wanted to give her a way to express herself. Since Lucy had never worn these clothes before, the outfit paired with the new hair was a great disguise. No one would expect the heiress of a prestigious family to dress in miniskirts and small tops.

Resigned to her fate of wearing dirty clothes and having stinky breath, she turned on the shower and undressed as she waited for the water to get warm. She did her best not to be nervous about a functional window in the bathroom where she was about to be naked, but she couldn't get it completely out of her mind. Thoughts of the dirty man in the bar climbing through the window to snatch her up while she showered made her move through the process much faster than she normally would have. Plus, the lack of any soap products made the shower less productive than it could have been. When she turned off the water and stepped out with a towel wrapped around her body, a loud thump against the door made her scream in terror. Erik's deep laughter filtered through the door, making her shout, "Why'd you scare me like that?!"

"I told you. Payback's a bitch."

"Stupid jerk," She muttered under her breath, knowing he'd only done it because he could hear how terrified she'd made herself with her vivid imagination. Without a clean set of clothes to wear, she pulled her dirty outfit back on. At least her skin was clean now, or as clean as it could be when she'd only been able to rinse off. When she opened the door and pushed past Erik, she made him laugh again when she mumbled, "I hope you drown in the shower."

 **A/N: I'm trying to keep Erik as in character as possible. What do you think? Looking for some feedback on that. With the exception of Cubellios (who Lucy hasn't found out about yet), he's never taken care of anyone and is developing a relationship with Lucy unlike any he's ever had before. He's supposed to be completely friendless, according to the anime, so I'm just winging it on how I think he'd act during his budding friendship with another human versus a snake. Obviously, this is pre-Nirvana. Things will get a little crazy when the Oracion Seis catches up with them and Natsu comes into the picture. I plan to keep some of the cannon events in this story, which I'll start building up to in a few chapters.**

 **Please review!**


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